OZO: Nokia's VR camera – The company is preparing a spherical camera for virtual reality apps
Nokia has created a camera for its corporate users that can help transform virtual reality (VR) for its games and other applications.
The OZO VR camera can capture images and audio in a 360-degree panorama, and the content can be made public for use with VR headsets, such as the Oculus Rift.
The OZO camera looks a bit like a Google Street View camera, in that it's shaped like a sphere and has cameras pointing in all directions. However, it also has a protruding stem that makes it look a bit like a pumpkin.
Aimed at content creation professionals, it captures 3D stereoscopic video via eight image sensors and eight microphones mounted on the sphere. This essentially means that if a sound is recorded coming from a specific direction, it can be played back with VR gear.
The software developed for the device allows users to view 3D images in real time, eliminating the need to stitch together panoramic images, Nokia said. It could speed up the process of converting everyday footage into VR images.
Nokia also announced a commitment to support OZO from California-based giant VR production company Jaunt, as well as a competition for submissions for immersive VR short films.
The OZO will be produced in Finland. Pricing, specifications and other details will be announced before the OZO launches in the fourth quarter of this year.
This camera will provide a major boost to the widespread adoption of VR, especially in the video game space, by major tech companies. In addition to Oculus, recent VR platforms include Sony's Project Morpheus, Samsung's Gear VR, HTC's Vive, and Microsoft's HoloLens, which aim to augment reality applications.
OZO is a new direction for Nokia, which withdrew from the market after selling its smartphone business to Microsoft.
